A Chopper Build Without a Hitch

Mike Cheek owns Grumpy's Customs in Concord, North Carolina, and wanted to build a new chopper for himself. He wanted it to be unique, reliable, and fun to ride, and it had to be red.

Owning a custom bike shop that manufactures many of its own parts made the build go quickly. The Grumpy's team started out with a Grumpy's rigid frame with 42 degrees of rake in the neck, 6 inches of stretch in the downtubes, and 4 more in the backbone. Attached to the neck is a set of H.H.I. 6-degree triple-trees with Grumpy's 12-inch-over forks. Not only would the bike be able to roll with a set of PM's Villain wheels -- a 21-incher in the front and an 18x8.5-incher in the back -- but they also enhanced the look of the bike with matching PM rotors secured to each wheel hub. Putting the squeeze on the rotors to bring the bike to a halt are H.H.I. four-piston calipers at both ends.

Powering the chopper is an all-T.P. 124ci Evo-style motor that came to the shop unassembled. Before they built the motor, the cylinders and heads were sent out to Calico Coatings for some red powdercoating. Complementing the motor is a Mikuni carb, a Forcewinder air cleaner, a Crane Hi-4 ignition system, and Grumpy's King Pin pipes with a Cold Chrome ceramic coating with red flames at the tips. Positioned behind the motor is a polished RevTech six-speed trans, with a BDL 3-inch open belt primary and clutch tying the two together.

Sheetmetal for the chopper was another aspect of the build that was no problem for a shop like Grumpy's. The team modified a Grumpy's gas tank to sit high on the backbone, with an indentation on either side of the tank to give it a more contoured shape. A Grumpy's rear fender was fit to sit as close to the rear tire as possible, and a Grumpy's oil bag wraps around the fender. Rounding out the sheetmetal is a Milwaukee Iron front fender that fits perfectly between the forks to cover the tire. With the bike completely mocked up, it was time to add some color to all the dull gray metal.

The frame and sheetmetal were sent to Ron's Kustom Painting for a molding session and a basecoat of fire engine red. The silver-flake flames went on next, along with multiple layers of clear. The triple-trees and lower legs were sent to Calico coating for an application of red powdercoating to tie the frontend into the red theme of the rest of the bike.

The colored surfaces were rushed back to Grumpy's, and the final assembly began. Drag Specialties flamed tattoo dragbars with Joker Machine hand controls were bolted to the frontend above a Headwinds headlight. Pro-One foot controls and Legends pegs were secured to the framerails. Finally, a CCI taillight/license plate was bolted to the rear end of the bike, along with a Hottails Custom seat.

All in all, the chopper took three quick weeks to build, but Mike wasn't surprised. With the resources he has at his shop and the great guys he has working for him, he expects all his bikes to be built correctly and quickly -- and the bike didn't turn out too badly either.